Lagos Colony and Southern Nigeria Protectorate are merged

In 1906, the British colonial administration formally merged the Lagos Colony with the Southern Nigeria Protectorate to create a unified Southern Nigeria. This administrative consolidation brought together the coastal Lagos territory, which had been under direct British rule since 1861, with the broader Southern Nigeria Protectorate that included Yoruba kingdoms, Igbo communities, and other southern territories. The merger was overseen by the Colonial Office in London as part of broader efforts to streamline British administration across West Africa.

The decision stemmed from practical administrative challenges and economic considerations that had been building for years. Lagos Colony, though economically important as a trading hub, was geographically small and surrounded by the Southern Nigeria Protectorate, creating overlapping jurisdictions and bureaucratic inefficiencies. The British found it increasingly difficult to manage separate administrative systems for territories that were economically and geographically interconnected. Additionally, the costs of maintaining dual administrative structures were becoming burdensome for the colonial government.